My Mom and I
Sunday was Mother’s Day and I could not bring myself to write a word or make a post along with all those others who honored their Mothers on that special day. Even today I started and stopped after one sentence. OK! STOP-EXHALE-BREATHE! Follow my own advice.
In truth, my mother and I were not much alike. She was athletic, a tomboy, and played basket ball in high school. After retiring she became an avid golfer and up until the last years always walked the course. The only sport I really liked was ice skating. She loved to watch baseball and watched at least one game a day in her last few years. She also made it to games both in Oakland and the new park in San Francisco; I did not. Baseball for me? Mostly, boring I am afraid! Am I un-American? She always regretted that she could not continue studying music, especially piano. She was brilliant at playing piano by ear; during college she would play the popular tunes (1930-40’s) for friends to dance. I did not inherit that gift, unfortunately, but she was above and beyond supportive of all my musical career. She did not like to cook although she often baked cookies for my Dad. I chuckle here at the memory of my Mother and her cookie baking because she made notes on all her recipes every time she baked them, especially the cookie count! On the other hand, I have always loved cooking, rather than baking, for my friends and family. We both liked to read. She was a party girl; I am not. She was a cracker-jack bridge player, something I never learned.
We talked nearly every day after my Dad died. When we lived in Belgium, we took turns calling each other every couple of weeks. When I moved to California we started e-mailing and actually talked less regularly. I think I may have gotten some of my gypsy spirit from both my parents. Before my Dad died, they had traveled West; my Dad loved it and decided they would move to Wyoming, after retirement. I was the one who moved West, with my Mother’s encouragement, in 1998; she followed in 2001. She was remarkable at 85, moving and learning to navigate a whole new life by bus and BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). She made lots of new friends, and was always good for a spontaneous outing. She was always busy, busy enough that it was sometimes hard to find her free. She always listened and never hesitated to set me straight when I was off on some crazy tangent. She was my best friend. I miss her! PAUSE-EXHALE-BREATHE-ONWARD!